Blogging Through The Alphabet - O

O is for "The Old Deluder Act" of 1647

Massachusetts Almanack - 1647

One thing I love about homeschooling is the ability to continue learning new things myself. I love history, and teaching it affords me the opportunity to have a reason to keep studying.

While learning about early American history, I discovered a law that was enacted in Massachusetts in 1647, called the "Old Deluder Act."  The purpose of this law was to acknowledge that "the old deluder, Satan" was seeking to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, so it provided for a means to educate the children of the colony for the direct purpose of being able to read and know the Scriptures! By knowing the Scriptures, they would be able to know God, and combat the devices of the devil. They would be able to overcome temptation, and have a virtuous lifestyle.

In early Massachusetts, once a town had over 50 people living there, this law stated that a school must be started and supported by the town's families, in order to teach the children to read and write. The main textbook used was the Bible. Once a town grew to a population of 100 or more, then the school would be expanded to include grammar and other instruction as well.

Here is the text of the "Old Deluder Satan Act of 1647" enacted in the colony of Massachusetts. (taken from Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (1853), II: 203 which can be found at Constitution.org. )

It being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times by keeping them in an unknown tongue, so in these latter times by persuading from the use of tongues, that so that at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded and corrupted with false glosses of saint-seeming deceivers; and to the end that learning may not be buried in the grave of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors.

It is therefore ordered that every township in this jurisdiction, after the Lord hath increased them to fifty households shall forthwith appoint one within their town to teach all such children as shall resort to him to write and read, whose wages shall be paid either by the parents or masters of such children, or by the inhabitants in general, by way of supply, as the major part of those that order the prudentials of the town shall appoint; provided those that send their children be not oppressed by paying much more than they can have them taught for in other towns.  And it is further ordered, that when any town shall increase to the number of one hundred families or householders, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the university, provided that if any town neglect the performance hereof above one year that every such town shall pay 5 pounds to the next school till they shall perform this order.

Old lawbooks - photo courtesy of www.flickr.com - public domain

Copyright 2012-2013 - "Be The One" - www.aclassofone.blogspot.com  All rights are reserved. No text, photos, or content may be reproduced without direct permission from the author.

This post is linked with "Blogging Through The Alphabet" at "Ben and Me".





Blogging Through the Alphabet - N

N is for Noise

 

Sound Waves photo from Commons.wikimedia.org

 

 

What is noise? Sounds. Sounds of any kind - some good and some very distracting and harsh. We live in a world filled with noise! I am constantly amazed at the low hum of noise in our household. It is never perfectly quiet, even after the children are in bed. There is always some kind of noise going on, even if it is just the sound of the dishwasher or washing machine!

A hornet breaking the sound barrier - photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

 

There are many new noises that have become a part of our life these past ten years. Noises of various beeps and electronics sounds. While I am constantly amazed at the technology available to us, and I do enjoy using it as well, I am sometimes disheartened at the lack of quiet in our lives and homes.

 

photo courtesy of www.flickr.com - public domain

 

Is all this noise a problem? Have you ever had a moment where you just wished you could turn it all off? Just escape from all the noise for a short time?

1Corinthians 14:10  "There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification."

Why is it a problem?  One big reason why noise is a problem is that it inhibits our ability to have a daily quiet time with God. The Bible emphasizes repeatedly that walking with God and building a personal relationship with Him is a daily event. Adam and Eve met with God in the Garden of Eden on a daily basis, at a set time. Who has never experienced a time of sitting down to read your Bible and pray, and had your cell phone go off? Or some timer start beeping from something in the house?

 

In order to accomplish our goals of developing a relationship with God, and hearing God's still, small voice, we must purpose in our heart to "turn off" the noise in our life. The sacrifice is worth it. Getting up early in the morning, before others are awake, is one of the most successful methods of having a quiet time with God. Another idea is turning off the cell phone before starting your devotions. It is not likely that anyone will have a reason that they must get ahold of you immediately, and cannot wait until you are done!

 

Moms, take the time to train your children that your devotion time is special and important. Don't allow them to interrupt you. When my children were smaller, I had to tell them, "Mom is busy reading her Bible and praying for a few minutes and it is very important. You will have to wait until I am done before you can speak with me." Children quickly learn that Mom cannot be interrupted, and I found that my children started following my example, and would curl up with their Bibles and read while I was reading mine. Lead by example.

 

 

 

Finding God and hearing His voice is the most important task of our lives. We will not find Him in all the noise. He has a still, small voice, and won't force Himself on us. He will wait for us to seek Him.

 

I Kings 19:11-13 "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?"

One of my favorite verses in the Bible (and probably one of the hardest ones for me to obey) is:

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Sometimes, we have to force ourselves to be still, and to block out all the noise, so we can know God. For someone like me who is always on the go, this can be a challenge, but I am always very blessed when I make it a priority, and I know you will be too!

This post is linked with Blogging Through The Alphabet at "Ben and Me" and also with "Titus 2sdays" at "TimeWarp Wife."

 

 

Review: Baker Publishing Group

My girls LOVE to read! I am always on the hunt for new, wholesome books that will interest them. They read through them so quickly that keeping up is quite a challenge! Every car ride, every doctor appointment, and most downtime will find the girls curled up with a book. We have pretty much exhausted the resources of our local library. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review the first two books in a new series from Baker Publishing Group through The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Life With Lily and A New Home For Lily are the first two books in the Adventures of Lily Lapp Series.  These books are a series written especially for younger girls, ages 8-12, chronicling the daily life and adventures of an Old Order Amish girl named Lily.  They are written by Mary Ann Kinsinger
and Suzanne Woods Fisher, both of whom have strong ties to the Amish community. In fact, even though these books are fiction, they are closely based on real life stories from Mary Ann Kinsinger's childhood, growing up Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania.

How long are the books?: "Life With Lily" is 288 pages long, and "A New Home For Lily" is 272 pages long. These books are 'chapter books'. Each chapter is short and contains a complete story, so it is suitable to either read straight through, like Melissa did, or to read one chapter at a time with a younger child.

What do they cost?: Both books sell for $12.99 each, and also have an e-book edition available.

Melissa, who is 11 years old, helped me with this review by reading through both books and sharing her thoughts and opinions.  Since this book was 'new to us' I also read through the first one, to get a feel for the story line, make sure I approved of the stories for Melissa, and be able to discuss it with her.

Here is Melissa's review of "Life With Lily":
Five year old Lily is growing up in an Amish home with two younger brothers, and no sisters. She is the oldest. When she goes to school, she loves learning and loves her teacher, until a terrible accident changes everything.

Lily is a free-spirited girl who enjoys her farm and loves to help her mother in the kitchen. She is learning how to take on responsibility and how to stay out of trouble, even though her friend Mandy Mast always seems to draw her into it.

My favorite part of this story is when her father brings home "Chubby", a miniature pony, and Lily learns how to drive him around the backyard in the snow. I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book.

Here is Melissa's review of "A Home For Lily":
After Lily and her family move, Lily finds herself not content with
their new house - she thinks the colors are ugly. She thinks that their new home and community is not as nice as their home in New York was. She is having a hard time adjusting to her new home.

Lily had an idea to make stickers and sell them. As she grows up, she is learning many new things. Life improves when her cousin Hannah moves next door and when Lily was able to get a real bedroom in the attic instead of sleeping in the hallway.

My favorite story in this book was when Lily was feeding grass to the billy goat and he picked her up with his horns. Lily was not hurt, but her mother had to come help her get away from the goat. It was really funny.

Mom's opinion:  I also read through these books and enjoyed them very much! Of course, it is written from a little girl's perspective, but I thought the authors did a tremendous job making it feel like Lily was the one telling the story, inserting her childhood innocence and joy into each chapter.

I appreciate that the books maintain a level of freshness and innocence in the stories, and there is not any questionable moral or ethical dilemmas that would make me uncomfortable allowing my daughters to read them. Amish culture is portrayed positively, and although it is quite different from the church and culture that my girls are growing up in, the stories were not bound by cultural barriers. They portrayed real life events and feelings that any young girl could relate to, and as we discussed the stories, I found that Melissa did identify with some of the thoughts and feelings that were shared, especially when the naughty Mandy Mast was trying to draw Lily into trouble.

Melissa gained a very healthy perspective of what it is like to live in an Amish culture. The stories also reinforced many of the character traits and virtues that I am trying to teach the girls. I appreciate a book that can teach values and character in a fun and relaxed way, and these books certainly did that.

Extras:  The books have a corresponding website called The Adventures of Lily Lapp where Melissa liked to visit, play some games and look up extra information about the Lapp family. This site has coloring pages (as shown above) as well as a quiz for each book. Melissa took both quizzes and got all the questions right! There is even a copy of an authentic Amish recipe that "Mama Lapp" made in the story, which Melissa found very exciting.

Recommendation:  Both Melissa and I liked these books very much. They were entertaining, refreshing, and unique. Melissa read through both of them in a matter of days - she just could not put them down! I often heard her laughing as she was reading, and she often shared funny excerpts from the books with the rest of the family. I would highly recommend them, especially to young girls, although I think that many boys would enjoy reading them as well.

Future considerations: There are two more books in the series that will be coming out soon. Melissa has already been asking for them! I'm sure we will have to purchase them to have a complete set. A Big Year for Lily is set to come out in July, 2013, and A Surprise for Lily is due out in September, 2013.

Find out what other Crew members thought by clicking the banner below!

 

  Copyright 2012-2013 - "Be The One" - www.aclassofone.blogspot.com  All rights are reserved. No text, photos, or content may be reproduced without direct permission from the author.